Welcome
For at least the month of March, 2020, we will be having our services ONLINE.
To join, click here or call (646) 558-8656 and enter the meeting ID 353 548 244.
Here's Pastor Nate's letter with some explanation, encouragement and much more info:
March 15, 2020
Dear Church in Drive Family,
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings! Though we are living now in unprecedented times, God comes to us and loves us. Nothing that is happening caught Him off guard and He is not afraid or confused or anxious. He has given us the Holy Spirit, so we do not need to fear either. In fact, now is the time for the Church to shine and lead, showing others what it looks like to live in Christ’s peace.
People are reacting in a variety of ways to this Coronavirus crisis. Some are so afraid they are hoarding and stockpiling toilet paper, cleaners, and food, leaving very little for anyone else who might just need their usual groceries. Other people are not changing anything about their routines taking a “business as usual” approach. Neither of these approaches is helpful, and both of them mean trouble for other people.
The leadership of The Church in Drive met last night via video conference. We prayed that God would show us how to obey the most important commandments in this time. What does it look like to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves?” In our meeting it was clear that no one was afraid to meet together in person to worship God, but out of love for our neighbors we concluded that we should not meet in person for the rest of March.
I have personally been in touch with several medical professionals in the past couple of days. The doctors, nurses and public health folks that I have interacted with all say that what is happening is not an over-reaction. I have a friend who is a missionary in Wuhan and have heard first hand about the situation there. Social distancing is how we fight back against this virus, slow its spread, and protect those who are most vulnerable among us - those already sick with a compromised immune system, those with chronic health challenges, and anyone over 60. We all have people in our lives and in our churches who are in that group. These efforts are a proactive measure, meant to prevent the healthcare system in our area from being overwhelmed like it has been in other countries.
This is an opportunity for our church! We have discerned that God has called us to “double down on community” as a core value of our church. It’s why we developed our new vision statement, moved to meeting around tables during our worship services, and changed our leadership structure. We made those innovations to respond to what we felt God was doing among us. Now we have a chance to do it again! What does it look like for us to pursue deep Christian community when we aren’t meeting physically for a few weeks? We’re going to find out!
Starting tonight, The Church in Drive will be streaming our service online. We bought a Pro Zoom account and we are working on being able to offer group discussions, virtual small groups during the week, fellowship activities, and tithe and offering options all online. Some of this will take us a few days to set up, and there will probably be some tweaks we need to make along the way. We are confident that with your patience and especially your prayers, we can continue to worship God together and love our neighbor at the same time.
Join us tonight at 6 pm by entering this address into your browser: https://zoom.us/j/353548244 Please share this link. Anyone without a computer can call (646) 558-8656, and then enter Meeting ID: 353 548 244.
This is the season of Lent. A season of slowing down, surrender, and preparation for something very new. I pray that this time will not only deepen our faith in Christ and our commitment to each other, but will also allow us to welcome even more people into the part of the Kingdom of God that is The Church in Drive! We’ll invite them to join us from the comfort of their own homes. Perhaps when we can meet physically again, they will join us! Share the link and invite your friends!
During this time, the Deacons of the church will be making calls to check in on our church family individually. If you have any spiritual or physical need, please reach out to me, your deacon, or anyone else from the church. Make it a point to call people both inside and outside the church. Set up video chats, send a card (but don’t lick the envelope :)) or think of other ways to reach out and connect during this time of social distancing. God created us to be in community with Him and each other and we’re going to keep doing it!
God bless us all and I’ll see you tonight at our worship service in cyberspace!
Nate Polzin
Pastor, The Church in Drive
Welcome
The Church in Drive is an intentional community equipping people to discover, develop, and deploy their unique gifts to influence their world through Christ.
Our mission is to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ in the city of Saginaw and the surrounding area. We have a special call to make disciples on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University through Standing in the Gap, and to establish other campus ministries and churches in college towns across Michigan and beyond.
Weekly Ministries
Worship – Sundays at 6:00pm
Standing in the Gap – Wednesdays at 7:30pm, TSAR at SVSU
